Going global oddities of globalism
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- THE EASY WAY TO UNDERSTAND WORLD ECONOMIC SYSTEMS 1. Socialism
- Anarchism
- NATIONAL PER CAPITA GDP COMPARISONS
- INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT INDIA
- TOUGH REALITIES AND INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT RUSSIA
- INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT EUROPE
- Nation ODA as a percentage of GDP
CURRENCY NAMES Baht: Thailand Bolivar: Venezuela Duetsche mark: Germany Dinar: Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait Dirham: United Arab Emirates Dollar: US, Canada, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore Drachma: Greece Escudo: Portugal Franc: France, Belgium, and Switzerland Forint: Hungary Guilder: Netherlands Koruna: Czech Republic Krona: Sweden Krone: Denmark, Norway Lira: Italy Mark: Germany Markka: Finland Peseta: Spain Peso: Mexico Pound: United Kingdom, Lebanon, and Ireland Punt: Ireland Rand: South Africa Real: Brazil Renminbi: China Ringgit: Malaysia Riyal: Saudi Arabia Rupee: India, Sri Lanka Rupiah: Indonesia Schilling: Austria Shekel: Israel Sucre: Ecuador Won: South Korea Yen: Japan Zloty: Poland
1. Socialism: You have two cows. Give one to your neighbor. 2 Communism: You have two cows. Give both cows to the government, and they may give you some of the milk. 3. Fascism: You have two cows. You give all of the milk to the government, and the government sells it. 4. Nazism: You have two cows. The government shoots you and takes both cows. 5. Anarchism: You have two cows. Keep both of the cows, shoot the government agent, and steal another cow. 6. Capitalism: You have two cows. Sell one cow and buy a bull. EXAMPLES OF RECENT INTERNATIONAL MERGERS AND JOINT VENTURES Note: > indicates corporate takeover/buyout + indicates a voluntary joint venture between companies Vodafone Air-Touch (British, mobile phone company) > Germany’s Mannesmann = world’s largest mobile phone company. Vodafone also has JVs with Ericsson & Nokia (Sweden) and IBM to provide Internet services on mobile phones. Stora Enso (Swedish-Finnish paper company) > Consolidated Papers (USA) for $6.5B Havas (France) > Snyder (USA) for $2.1B to create the world’s 4th largest advertising agency Alcatel (French telecom maker) > Newbridge Networks (Canadian telecom) for $7.1B Deutsche Bank (Germany) + SAP (software company) + AOL Europe to provide financial services online Time Warner (USA) > EMI (Britain) to become the world’s record company France Telecom > Global One (dissolved JV between Sprint + Deutsche Telecom) Italtel (Italian telecom maker) + Cisco (America’s largest networking equipment maker) Gemplus (French smartcard maker) + Texas Pacific Group (American venture capital firm) to help Gemplus penetrate the U.S. credit card market Boehringer Ingelheim (German drug company) > SSP (Japanese drug firm) Glaxo Wellcome > SmithKline Beecham (USA companies that now form the world’s drug company) Pfizer > Warner-Lambert and American Home Products (all USA) to form the world’s second largest drug company PwC (PriceWaterhouse + Coopers & Lybrand) is now the world’s largest auditing firm LaFarge (French building materials & cement supplier) > Blue Circle Industries (Britains’ largest cement firm) to form the world’s largest cement company Toyota + GM to produce GM’s Onstar in-car communications system America Online > Time Warner to produce the world’s largest general media company Groupe Danone (France) > McKeeson Water Products (USA) Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (Spain) + Terra Networks (USA) + Telefoncia (Spain’s leading telecom company) to bring Internet banking to Latin nations Renault > Samsung Ford > Daewoo T-Online (Internet provider owned by German Deutsche Telekom) > Club Internet (owned by France’s Lagardere Group) European Aeronautic Defence and Space, a subsidiary of the JV between DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Germany) + Aerospatiale Matra (France) + Casa (Spain) Sara Lee (USA) > Courtaulds Textiles (Britain) to acquire CT’s underwear product group MCI WorldCom > Sprint (USA), worth $180B Rogers & Wells (New York) + Punder, Volhard, Weber & Axster (Germany) + Clifford Chance (London) to produce the world’s largest law firm Pacific Century Cyberworks (Hong Kong) > HKT (Hong Kong) for $36B Cap Gemini (France) > Consultant division of Ernst & Young (USA) for $11.1B PowerGen (British energy company) > LG&E (USA utility in Kentucky) for $3B Sears (USA) + Carrefour (France) to form the GlobalNetXchange, an internet system to link retailers and suppliers Tata Tea (India) > Tetley Tea (Britain) GM (USA) acquired 20% stock in Fiat (France) for $2.4B Sema (French computer services) > LHS (USA mobile phone software firm) for $4.7B Chase Manhattan Bank (USA) > Robert Fleming (British investment bank) Scottish & Newcastle (Britain’s largest brewer) > Danone (French food group) for $2.6B BASF (German chemicals company) > Cynamid (owned by USA’s American Home Products) for $3.8B France Telecom > MobilCom (German mobile phone company) for $3.6B EM.TV (German television company) > 50% share of Formula One racing (USA) for $1.65B DaimlerChrysler (Germany) > 33% stake in Mitsubishi (Japan) for $1.3B Deutsche Bank (Germany) > Dresdner Bank (Germany) for $1.2T, creating the 2nd largest bank in the world MeritaNordbanken (Norway) > Unidanmark (Denmark) for $5.7 B Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (Spain) > Uno-E and First-E (Ireland) QXL (British Internet auction company) > Bidlet (Norway) C&N Touristic (German travel firm) > Thomson Travel (Britain's largest tour company) Nokia & Ericsson (Sweden) + Motorola (USA), developing technolgy for a single standard for e-commerce on mobile phones Pacific Century CyberWorks (Hong Kong) + Telstra (Australia), $3B Internet venture Volvo (Sweden) > Renault (France) trucking divisions Unilever (British-Dutch) > Slim Fast Foods (USA), $2.3B Unilever (British-Dutch) > Ben & Jerry's ice cream, $326M Unilever (British-Dutch) > BestFoods (USA), $18.4B ING (Dutch bank) > ReliaStar (America's 11th largest life insurance company), $6.1B HABC (British bank) + Merrill Lynch, to produce the first global online retail bank Siemens (German manufacturer) + Robert Bosch will buy Atecs (engineering subsidiary of German Mannesmann) Nomura International bank (Japan) > Hyder (Welsh utilities company) Thomson (Canadian publisher) > Primark (U.S. information company) for $842M Ford > Volvo for $6.5B Old Mutual (South Africa) > United Asset Management (USA) Vivendi (French media & utilities group) > Seagram (Canadian media & distillery) for $34B Deutsche Telekom (German phone service company) > Powertel (U.S. mobile phone company) for $6B Deutsche Telekom (German phone service company) > VoiceStream (U.S. mobile phone company) for $30B
Algeria $1,592 Argentina $8,810 Australia $21,750 Austria $26,740 Belgium $25,670 Brazil $3,280 Bulgaria $1,530 Canada $22,394 Chile $4,950 China $790 Colombia $1,795 Czech Republic $5,580 Denmark $32,576 Egypt $1,499 Estonia $3,778 Finland $27,979 France $24,956 Germany $27,337 Greece $11,860 Hong Kong $18,400 Hungary $ 5,180 India $ 540 Indonesia $840 Iran $1,050 Iraq $313 Ireland $26,510 Israel $16,100 Italy $21,393 Japan $30,720 Jordan $1,229 Kazakhstan $1,020 Kenya $292 Latvia $2,794 Lebanon $5,769 Lithuania $2,865 Malaysia $3,808 Mexico $5,040 Netherlands $27,200 New Zealand $14,310 Nigeria $450 Norway $35,853 Pakistan $430 Philippines $1,033 Poland $4,290 Portugal $11,621 Romania $1,480 Russia $1,410 Saudi Arabia $ 6,560 Singapore $17,870 Slovakia $3,920 South Africa $3,150 South Korea $9,040 Spain $14,623 Sweden $28,417 Switzerland $36,166 Taiwan $13,832 Thailand $2,140 Turkey $3,120 Ukraine $590 United Kingdom $23,947 United States $33,946 Venezuela $4,410 Vietnam $367 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT INDIA Did you know that in India: One million babies are born each month (1.1 billion total population) More babies are born annually than there are people in Australia There are 15 languages and nearly 1000 dialects India will be larger than China In 100 years The Indian elephant weighs almost 11,000 pounds, stands more than 10 feet high, eats 500 pounds of forage a day, and drinks 50 gallons of water a day. 
TOUGH REALITIES AND INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT RUSSIA Russia 's birth rate is among the lowest in the world (1.17 children per woman vs. a replacement rate of 2.14). Having children is a passport to poverty and worry in Russia. Abortion is the main form of birth control in Russia. One-third of Russian women are infertile as a result. Two thirds of Russian men smoke, and they drink twice as much as Americans. Russian men now have an average life span of 60, down from 64 in 1991. The number of Russians who have contracted syphilis (the best predictor of future AIDS outbreaks) is 100 times higher than in the West. It is predicted that 10 million Russians will be HIV positive in just a few years. The Nazi’s exacted a horrible toll on the Soviet people. Some estimates place the Soviet battlefield deaths at more than 13.6 million. Civilian deaths, including in labor camps and concentrations camps, totaled another 7.7 million. With more than 21.3 million military and civilian deaths, almost every family in the Soviet Union lost a loved one. Rather than risk the crime, bribery, and out-of-control taxation of Russia, many international companies are setting up shop just outside the Russian border. Acer built its new plant at Lappeenranta , Finland —less than 13 miles from the Russian border. In Moscow, restaurant employees had to be specially trained to smile in the friendly McDonald’s way. That’s because Russians do not feel comfortable smiling at strangers. It is a good idea to have on hand a large supply of business cards when meeting Russians. The university degree of the business visitor should be included on the card and it should be printed in Cyrillic (the Russian alphabet). At negotiations involving many C.I.S. officials, be sure to give a card to everyone present, in order not to overlook someone who might turn out to be important. If you need to give a business gift, items that appeal to the intellect or aesthetics are particularly prized, such as recordings, art prints and books. INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT EUROPE English explorer James Cook sailed around the world twice, made three voyages to the Pacific Ocean and discovered Hawaii, eastern Australia, the Cook Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, and the Antarctic ice cap. Iceland has only 56,000 people. Population density is 7 people per square mile. The Danube river runs through or touches more countries than any other river on earth, including Ukraine , Moldova , Romania , Bulgaria , Yugoslavia , Croatia , Hungary , Slovakia , Austria , and Germany . Germany has the largest population in Europe. Multicultural Brussels has become a favorite locale for test marketing. There are few European cultures more different than the Dutch and the French, and both are represented in Brussels. A product that can appeal to both is likely to be a winner. The population of Belgium is largely split between the Flemish and the Walloons. The Flemish speak a dialect of Dutch. The Walloons speak French. The 3 regions of France most famous for producing world-class wine are Burgundy, Champagne , and Bordeaux . Sweden was recently connected to the European continent by a trans-ocean bridge in Denmark. Germany did not form as a European nation until 1871. Germany is bordered by ten countries (France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland). Each of following firms has been controlled by Sweden’s Wallenberg family. The Wallenberg group controls more than 35% of the capitalization on the Swedish stock market. This is the largest share controlled by one family in any industrialized country in the world: Stora-Great (the world’s oldest company); Electrolux (the world’s biggest manufacturer of household appliances); ASEA Brown Boveri (the world’s biggest electrical engineering company); SKF (the world’s biggest maker of ball bearings); Ericsson (the telecommunications giant;) Saab-Scandia (the automotive and aerospace manufacturer). Coca-Cola tried to introduce the two-liter plastic bottle in Spain, but market entry was difficult. The company soon discovered that few Spaniards had refrigerator doors with compartments large enough to accommodate the large-size bottle. In the 1990s one in five doctors and one in three mathematicians left Poland. Europeans and South Americans write the date with the day first and year last. Amsterdam has over 1000 bridges. Denmark controls Greenland. Scandinavian capitals: Sweden: Stockholm Norway: Oslo Finland: Helsinki Denmark: Copenhagen Netherlands: Amsterdam The 2 most northern capitals in the world are Helsinki, Finland and Reykjavik, Iceland. France is the largest European nation geographically. The Mediterranean is the world’s largest inland sea. Switzerland and Austria are the 2 most mountainous nations in Europe. Ireland ’s longest river is the Shannon . Belgium and the Netherlands have the highest population density. The Berlin Wall stood 29 years (1961-1990) The most heavily used waterway in Europe is the Rhine River. Switzerland has the world's highest per capita income. France is the largest agricultural producer in Europe. France and Portugal are the #1 and #2 wine producers in Europe. A third of the land in the Netherlands has been reclaimed from the sea. Per capita income for EU nations in 2000 expressed on a base number of 100 (where the EU average = 100): Luxembourg = 181.7 (meaning that the average income in Luxembourg is 81.7% higher than the EU average per capita income); Denmark = 118; Ireland = 117; Netherlands = 116; Austria = 114; Belgium = 113; Germany = 111; Finland = 109; Britain = 102; Sweden = 101; France = 100; Italy = 96; Spain = 82; Portugal = 77; Greece = 65 The river that inspired Johann Strauss’s “Blue Danube” waltz flows through Austria, Hungary, and former Yugoslavia Interesting facts about the introduction of the Euro in 2002: Throughout the EU, 14 billion bank notes (worth $132 billion) had to be delivered for the introduction of the Euro, and 37.5 billion coins (weighing 340, 000 tons, equal to the weight of 24 Eiffel Towers). It would have required 478,000 vans to distribute the cash in a single day. Just the Euro bank notes received by Germany would have been 50 times higher than Mount Everest. The 6 new Euro coins replaced 70 different national coins previously used in the 15 member nations. Galeries Lafayette, a French food retailer, had to supply 25,000 cash registers with the new currency and convert 15,000 weighing scales. The company's total conversion cost was estimated at 150 million Euros. Polls showed that two thirds of Europeans suspected that retailers would try to cheat them in initial price conversions. Conversion to a common currency quickly made visible unwarranted price differentials throughout Europe on a wide range of common products. For example, a kilo of beef in Paris cost 15 Euros in Paris vs. 21 in Amsterdam vs. 9.9 in Madrid. A movie theater ticket cost 8 Euros in Brussels vs. 24.3 in Helsinki. Aspirin that cost 3.7 Euros in Athens cost 12.9 in Rome and Berlin. Travel consultants recommend that non-Europeans use a credit card for purchases in the Euro's first year to avoid possible overpayment due to currency confusion. Germany lost its African colonies in the peace settlement following World War I. Italy lost Abyssinia (now known as Ethiopia) with its defeat in World War II. Spain collected an empire that covered most of Central and South America and scattered places in Asia. The Spanish Empire was essentially over by the end of the nineteenth century, The Portuguese Empire, roughly one hundred times the land area of Portugal at its greatest extent, was the earliest European colonial regime, and the latest. Portugal lost its African colonies in the mid-1970s, and finally gave up its last handful of Asian soil, Macao, in 1999. The Dutch Empire, at one point fifty-five times bigger than the Netherlands, was taken over in 1942 by the Japanese, who carefully studied European colonial methodology and then bested their teachers in the first months of World War II. Belgium controlled a swath of Africa roughly eighty times as big as Belgium, but lost its last foreign holding in 1960, France, with foreign colonies twenty times as large as France itself, fought and lost a series of colonial wars following World War II. Paris gave up in Southeast Asia in the 1950s; the north and central African colonies peeled off in the 1960s.
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